The blockchain is the technology behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. It has the potential to fundamentally impact the Internet and all its processes – but as a resident at Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar, you already know this.

If you want to find out even more about the blockchain and related digital technologies, their applications and their impact on business and society, have a look at Blockruption.

What is disintermediation?

In general, disintermediation means that participants in a network, for example a marketplace, replace all middlemen with some other coordination mechanism to deal with each other directly. In Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar, the regular guests replace the bar owner with a collection of rules that are based on blockchain concepts. We explain how disintermediation works in Episode 1.

What is a middleman?

A middleman is a person or an organisation facilitating transactions between third parties – usually for a fee. For example, a hotel booking website is a middleman in transactions between hotels and guests. In Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar, the bar keeper is standing between the guests and the beer. Episode 1 is the only episode that features a middleman.

What is a peer-to-peer network?

In a peer-to-peer network all computers have the same rights and obligations, i.e. there are no computers with special features such as servers. In Episode 2, the regular guests turn Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar into a Beer-to-Beer … uh … peer-to-peer system.

Is a blockchain a peer-to-peer network?

Yes, if done right, a blockchain is a peer-to-peer network where all participating computers have the same rights. We explain peer-to-peer systems in Episode 2.

What is a protocol?

A protocol is a set of rules that defines how people, organisations, or machines should communicate and work together to achieve a common goal. Episode 3 introduces The Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar Protocol (BBBP).

What is a blockchain protocol?

A blockchain protocol determines how computers in the respective blockchain network should communicate and behave. The regulars at Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar introduce a bar management protocol based on blockchain ideas in Episode 3

What is a token?

A token is a physical or digital object that represents value. For example, a jeton is a token used for gambling in a casino. In Episode 4 we explain how to use tokens to pay for beer at The Blockchain Bar.

What is a crypto token?

Blockchain technology heavily relies on cryptographic algorithms. That’s why the tokens used in blockchain systems are called crypto tokens. In Episode 4 we explain how to use tokens to pay for beer at The Blockchain Bar.

What is a distributed ledger?

A distributed ledger is a list of all transactions that is shared by all participants, i.e. everyone keeps a copy of the transaction list. We explain the concept of a distributed ledger in Episode 5, when our friends at the Blockchain Bar decide that they will all keep a list of the drink orders.

How do blockchains create trust?

Trust evolves in blockchain systems because all computers run follow the same protocol (see Episode 3 for an explanation of protocols). The protocol consists of several elements that are important for generating trust, for example, a distributed ledger (Episode 5), cryptographic hash functions (Episode 7) and the consensus mechanism (Episode 8).

What is a block in a blockchain?

Blockchain systems group transactions into blocks for improved handling and security. Blocks are linked through cryptographic hash functions. The result is a chain of linked blocks – a blockchain. In Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar, we group beer orders in to blocks that are the pages of a writing pad (see Episode 6 for an explanation of blocks at The Bar and in blockchain systems).

What is hashing?

In computing, hashing is a mathematical process that turns an input of any length, e.g. ‘E-Street-Band’, into a corresponding output of fixed length, e.g. ‘12’. We explain how hashing works in Episode 7 of Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar.

What is a hash?

A hash is a short representation generated computationally from an input of any size. Episode 7 of Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar explains how to use hashes in the Bar and in computing.

What are data fingerprints?

In computing, hashes are sometimes called ‘data fingerprint’, because in many cases, hashes uniquely identify the data that was used to generate them. The concept of hashes is explained in Episode 7 of Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar.

How do hashes work?

See ‘hashing’ and Episode 7.

What is a consensus mechanism?

Blockchain systems use a consensus mechanism to reach an agreement about a common state of the transaction list or blockchain among all participants. How consensus mechanisms work in our Blockchain Bar and in real blockchain systems is explained in Episode 8.

How do blockchains reach consensus?

The consensus mechanism of a blockchain system defines how to reach an agreement about a shared truth or view of the world among all connected computers. Episode 8 explains how consensus mechanisms work.

What is proof-of-work?

Proof-of-work is a type of consensus mechanism used in most of today’s blockchain systems, e.g. in Bitcoin and Ethereum. In Episode 8, we introduce a simple version of a proof-of-work consensus mechanism in the Blockchain Bar.

What is a miner?

Miners are the computers or nodes, which run the software that keeps a blockchain system working. Generally, miners create new blocks of transactions and also generate new tokens in many cases. In Episode 9 we explain who can become a miner at Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar and how mining works in general.

What is mining?

In many blockchain systems, mining is the process of creating new blocks of transactions and generating new tokens. Both are essential functions in a blockchain network. How mining works at our Blockchain Bar and in general is explained in Episode 9.

What is an ICO?

ICO is the acronym for Initial Coin Offering. How ICOs work is in explained in Episode 10 of Blockruption’s Blockchain Bar.

What is an initial coin offering?

An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a blockchain based form of financing companies or product developments by selling newly created crypto tokens or coins to investors or future customers. Episode 10 explains ICOs in general and how our friends at the Blockchain Bar use an ICO for financing a new project.